Waterproof yarn and method of making same



March 27; 1928'. 1,663,953

J.. C. PEABODY WATERPROOF YARN AND METHOD OF MAKiNG SAME Filed NOV. 25, 1922 Patented Mar. 27, 1928.

JAMES C. PEABODY, F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

WATERPROOF YARN A-ND METHODOF MAKING SAME.

Application filed November 23, 1922. Serial No. 602,782.

My present invention has for its object to provide a yarn for use in the manufacture of various articles, such as belting, tires, or the like, each of the fibres of the yarn being waterproofed and embedded in masses of rubber or other suit-able material employed to fill the interstices of the fabric, or other article made from the yarn, and the whole being, capable of being vulcanized into a homogeneous and impermeable mass having great strength and capable of resisting the penetration of water.

As is well understood by those skilled in the art, it is impossible to spin fibres which have been impregnated with raw rubber or other sticky substance. Thus, cotton fibres or paper fibres, which have been impregnated, cannot be spun by ordinary methods. Furthermore, ayarn or cord which has been spun from dry, i. e. unimpregnated, fibres, cannot afterwards be completely impregnated by immersion or by 'frictioning, since the rubber reaches only the exterior surface of the yarn and does not reach the fibres lying at the interior thereof. These facts are of great importance in the manufacture 0 tires and belts, because the masses of rubber which are employed to fill the interstices between the several cords or yarns cannot be caused to adhere permanently to the yarns and separation tends to occur. Furthermore, water penetrates to the unimpregnated fibres and causes separation of the rubber from the yarns as well as deterioration of the fibres.

My invention, therefore, has for its chief object to produce a yarn all the fibres of which are coated or impregnated with rubber, and, therefore, which is capable of being vulcanized and permanently united to any intersticial masses of rubber in the final article produced. =My invention also has. the further advantage that it makes possible the use of low grade fibre, such as cotton lint, wood fibre and the like, since the impregnation with rubber greatly increases the tensile strength of whatever fibre or combination of fibres is employed.

The invention will be fully understood from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying draws d the novel teature thereof; wi l be pointed out and clearly defined in the claims at the close of this specification.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 represents a bat of fibre.

Fig. 2 shows the same being impregnated, calendered, dried and wound.

Fig. 3 shows the roll out into rolls of strips or ribbon.

Fig. 4 shows the twisting of the strips or ribbon.

Fig. 5 shows the yarn woven into a woven fabric.

Fig. 6 shows two layers of woven fabric laid up with alternate layers of pure rubber.

Fig. 7 shows a finished product which has been vulcanized and compressed.

In practising my invention I proceed as follows I first make a hat or sheet of dry fibres which may be of any desired kind, as for instance, cotton fibre or wood fibre,. or any of the usual textile fibres. Some of the Well-known so-oalled paper fibres may also be employed, since the subsequent treatment strengthens them. The bat is made in the f ordinary manner by matting together loosely the fibres, as in the manufacture of cotton batting. A portion of such a bat is shown at A in Figure 1. Next, the bat A is impregnated, preferably by immersion in a bath B of suitable material, as for instance, raw rubber and sulphur dissolved in 'benzol or naptha, any suitable exciter such as lime being employed. In practice,'I use a very thin compound so that each fibre of the bat will receive a very light coating of raw rubher. Since the fibres of the bat are loosely laid together, every fibre will be completely impregnated and coated with the material employed. This mats the fibres more closely together and the impregnated bat is now more roperly termed a web. The web is then' rolled or calendered, being preferably passed through rolls Figure 2. Next the web is dried by beilrsig passed through a drying compartment suitable provision being preferably made for the recovery of the solvent. The web is then divided into strips. This is conveniently done by rolling up the web into a roll E and then cutting the roll thus formed into section t his time the u f ce of the web is C and D, as shown in bedded in rubber.

still slightly sticky or tacky but 'not sufficiently so to interfere with the handling of the material. In Figure 3, the roll is shown to be cut into narrow sections FF, on planes transverse to the axis of the roll. After this the strips Gr, forming the several rolls FF, are spun or twisted upon themselves, as shown in Figure 4, into yarn or cord H. This spinning or twisting can be done on machines such as are at present employed in the manufacture of paper twine. The strips being still slightly tacky, the surfaces in the twisted yarn, which contact with each other, adhere somewhat and tend to hold the yarn together and in shape.

The yarn thus produced is very strong indeed and in fact has a much higher tensile strength than yarn made from similar dry fibres would have had, this being due to the impregnation and coating of the fibres with the raw rubber.

The completed yarn may then be made up into any desired article. I have shown in Figure 5 a woven fabric W for use in the manufacture of belting. Several plies of this fabric can be laid up with alternate layers of raw rubber R, as shown in Figure 6, and then the whole subjected to heavy pressure in a press and vulcanized to form a finished fabric, such as is shown in Figure 7. The pressure causes portions of the rubber in the rubber layers to penetrate the interstices between the yarns composing the fabric. The fibres of the yarns are not only each coated with rubber but are themselves surrounded and em- The heat, to which the 'wholemass is subjected while in the press, vulcanizes not only the intersticial masses of rubber but also the coating of the fibres, uniting them into a single, substantially, homo eneous mass.

It is to be understood that the manufacture of the belting, shown in the drawin s and described herein, is only by way of ilustration, since my invention is a broad one and comprises the manufacture of any a-r-' ticle in which a yarn constructed as described is combined with adjacent masses of vulcanizable material and the whole united by vulcanization to produce the homogeneous mass described. Other articles embodying my invention are cord and fabric tires.

Furthermore, I do not limit myself to rubber as the substance for treating the fibres, since other gums or oils, both natural and synthetic, may be profitably employed, and I believe myself to be the first to pro- In the drawings,

2. The method of making yarn which includes completely impregnating a strip of fibre bat with vulcanizable material, thereafter spinning said strip or twisting it upon itself and finally vulcanizing said yarn.

'3. The method of making a yarn which comprises the following steps: ((1) making a hat of dry fibre, (b) impregnating the bat with a vulcanizable gum, (a) drying the bat, (d) rolling up the web so formed, (6) slitting the roll, and (f) forming the strips into yarn.

4. The method of making a yarn which comprises the following steps: (a) making a hat of dry fibre, (b) impregnating the bat with a vulcanizable gum, (a) drying the bat, (d) rolling the web so formed, (6) slitting the roll, (f) forming the strips into yarn and (g) vulcanizing the yarn.

5. The method of making a yarn which comprises the following steps: ((1) making a bat of dry fibre, (b) impregnating the bat with a vulcanizable gum, (c) dividing the bat into strips, (d) forming the strips into yarn and (e) curing the whole.

6. The method of making yarn which comprises the following steps: (a) making a bat of dry fibre, (b) impregnating the hat, (0) rolling up the web so formed, (d) slitting the roll, and (e) twisting the strips into arn.

y 7. The method of making yarn which comprises the following steps: (a) making a hat of dry fibre, (b) impregnating the hat with a Vulcanizing gum, (a) dividing the bat into strips, (d) twisting the strips into yarn, and (e) vulcanizing the whole.

8. The hereindescribed yarn composed of a twisted strip of thin sheet material which is itself composed of a bat of dry fibre impregnated with an unvulcanized but vulcanizable gum.

9. The hereindescribed yarn composed of a. twisted strip of thin sheet material which is itself composed of a bat of dry fibre impregnated with an unvulcanized rubber compound.

In testimony whereo I-afiix my signature.

JAMES c; PEABODY. 

